Soccer-France factbox for Euro 2016 finals draw

Dec 4 (Reuters) - France factbox before the draw for the Euro 2016 finals in Paris on Dec. 12: Seeding Pot for the draw: Hosts France take A1 in Group A and will play the remainder of the teams drawn in Group A. How They Qualified: France qualified as hosts. Coach Didier Deschamps: Deschamps, 47, took over from his former Les Bleus team mate Laurent Blanc after they exited Euro 2012 in the quarter-finals. His contract was extended after he led France to the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals, where they lost 1-0 to eventual champions Germany. Deschamps, who captained France to World Cup glory in 1998, brought his winning touch to coaching at Monaco, Juventus and Olympique de Marseille but has yet to lift a title with France. His pragmatic approach is often praised, evidenced by a call-up for Hatem Ben Arfa of Nice despite the player's reputation as a potential troublemaker and their own poor relationship when they were at Marseille together. France's prospects On the last two occasions France hosted a major tournament they won it, lifting the European title in 1984 and the World Cup in 1998. At Euro 84 they were led by Michel Platini and in 1998 by Zinedine Zidane. Nobody in the current squad has the talent of the two former playmakers but there are still several very good players. Playing at home will be a massive asset and anything less than a semi-final appearance would be regarded as a failure. A question mark hangs over Karim Benzema, who is under investigation over the alleged blackmailing of his team mate Mathieu Valbuena. The November Paris attacks could galvanise the squad rather than make them fear. Previous tournaments: France have reached the finals on eight previous occasions and won the title twice in 1984 and 2000. 1960 semis; 1984 winners; 1992 group stage; 1996 semis; 2000 winners; 2004 quarter-finals; 2008 group stage; 2012 quarter-finals. William Hill odds to win Euro 2016: 7/2 (second favourites) (Compiled by Julien Pretot in Paris, editing by Mark Meadows)